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Their View: Nursing students thank community for assistance

By Brittany Barham, Kerry Huffman and Kristina Polanco / For the Sun-News

Posted:
12/22/2012 08:49:20 PM MST

In lieu of the events of the past semester related to the DACC Nursing Program's loss of accreditation from the NLNAC, the students would like to take an opportunity to reflect and publicly thank the Las Cruces Community. This accreditation loss has impacted all of our lives drastically and in ways we did not even know were possible.

We would like to thank the advocacy group Just Peaceful Caring (now called H.E.A.L.) for giving us a voice when we were speechless and then making our voices heard when we were muffled and had finally formulated the words to express the importance of this accreditation and its impact on our lives as professionals in the health-care industry. You have been an invaluable asset to the outcomes we have had and will continue to be a staple forever in our lives as an example of how important advocating for our own profession is.

Of the 24 fourth-semester students that were set to graduate, one graduated from Sante Fe Community College in Sante Fe, N.M. Two students graduated from DACC. Western New Mexico University has worked steadfastly to obtain funding to accept eight of the fourth-semester students from DACC into their program and they are slated to graduate May 2013. The remaining 15 students from the fourth-level cohort have transferred to New Mexico State University and with the help of the scholarship and the expeditious work of the School of Nursing at NMSU will graduate in the next two years starting between May 2013 and completing in December 2014.

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The students from the third-, second- and first-level cohorts that transferred from DACC to NMSU will graduate from New Mexico State in the coming years.

Thank you to Diana Alba from the Sun News, Samantha Manning from KFOX, Vanessa De La Vina from KVIA and Amanda from KSNM 570 AM for making our voices heard once we knew what we had to say was important. Thank you for taking and keeping our story in our community's lives.

We would like to thank SFCC for acting so quickly in order to allow that one student to complete her degree on time. We would like to thank WNMU for working so hard to find a solution for those students that NMSU was not a viable option for. We would like to thank NMSU for acting so quickly and providing such a generous offer that allowed for so many students to obtain the education they need to pursue their careers.

Thank you to all of the nurses and nursing instructors in our community who have given us guidance, we hope to be all that you are someday. To all of our family, friends and loved ones who have been here for us not only during this difficult time but throughout our prior and future education: We would not be anywhere if it was not for you.

Last but not least, thank you to the city of Las Cruces and its surrounding areas - our community. Every single entity listed above is a part of this community and has/will continue to be integral to our success as nurses here. Every single person who has read a news article, a Facebook post, watched the evening news, Googled it online, talked to their friends etc. has helped us to work towards a solution to this problem. This is OUR community; a community of caring, compassionate, hardworking and intelligent people whose voices will always supersede the voice of one. You have renewed our faith in the power of pursuing what is right.

We are beyond grateful and relieved that we can move on with our lives and careers thanks to the work of so many. As you know this situation is a by-product of decisions that were made over our heads and the people directly responsible have not been held accountable. While we feel that we need answers and we need to seek justice on our behalf and on behalf of the students still remaining at DACC, we also feel that the time has come for us to thank all of you and begin to close this chapter of our lives. We are asking you as our community to not forget what happened to us. We are urging you to continue to make NMSU hold the appropriate people responsible to ensure that this never happens again.

We as a body of students are committed to each other in more ways than one. We are a sisterhood/brotherhood of scrub pants. We will be your nurses someday and we urge you to not forget how important our education to achieve that goal is. Nursing is a passion, an art form a calling. Not a single person involved in this situation has spoken of quitting or backing down.

The city of Las Cruces has decided to be the voice of these students and we could not be more proud to be a part of a community that supports its members at that level. When this story first came to light in our community in August, we told you that all we wanted was our futures back. I am happy to share with you just days before Christmas that we have received the greatest gift of all ..the future of these 109 nurses back. While we are still in shock in response to the events that have occurred over the last four months, we are hopeful and feel blessed to live in such an amazing place. The city of Las Cruces; where people help people. ,

Brittany Barham, Kerry Huffman and Kristina Polanco are current and former nursing students at DACC and NMSU.

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